HIS ADMINISTRATION IS CONSIDERING A BAN ON THE PRODUCTS. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS, THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER MANDATED REPORTING BY CLINICIANS STATEWIDE. THE PUBLIC CRISIS NOW? VAPING-RELATED PULMONARY DISEASE. >> PART OF US ISSUING THIS MANDATE TODAY IS TO BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE FOR THE CDC DURING THEIR INVESTIGATION. JULIE: THERE ARE NOW 10 SUSPECTED CASES OF SERIOUS LUNG DISEASE. NATIONWIDE, 450 CASES SINCE JUST LAST WEEK, AND SIX HAVE DIED. >> WE HAD NO AWARENESS WE COULD SUFFER SUCH AN INJURY. JULIE: DR. ARAN KADAR IS A PULMONOLOGIST AT NEWTON-WELLESLEY HOSPITAL. HE TYPICALLY SEES PATIENTS COMING IN WITH LESS ACUTE SYMPTOMS, LIKE A COUGH, BUT WARNS IF LEFT UNTREATED, THEY CAN ACCELERATE. HE SUGGESTS THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS AT PLAY LEADING TO ILLNESS. >> ANY TIME YOU HEAT UP A SUBSTANCE AND INHALE IT, THAT’S A COMPLICATED EXPOSURE. THERE’S MULTIPLE LIQUIDS, CHEMICALS IN THAT SUBSTANCE. THERE ARE METALS INSIDE THE PENS THAT CAN ALSO VAPORIZE. JULIE: WHAT’S MORE, DR. KADAR SAYS 10 MILLION AMERICANS ARE VAPING, ANOTHER THREE MILLION IN IN THE U.K., SO THE RATIO OF ILLNESS IS LOW AND SUGGESTS BLACK MARKET CARTRIDGES COULD CONTRIBUTE. >> ANYTHING THAT TAKES A YOUNG PERSON WHO IS OTHERWISE HEALTHY AND THEN REDUCES THEM TO A POINT WHERE THEY NEED MECHANICAL VENTILATORY SUPPORT IN AN ICU STATE IS EXTREMELY CONCERNING. JULIE: 41% OF ALL HIGH SCHOOLERS IN MASSACHUSET

As federal officials investigate a multi-state outbreak of lung illnesses associated with the use of e-cigarette products, Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel temporarily added possible cases of vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses to the list of conditions clinicians are required to report to the state. Bharel told the Public Health Council on Wednesday that she was using her regulatory authority to mandate that vaping-related illnesses be reported to the department for the next 12 months. Gathering that information will allow the department to provide case counts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, help public health officials understand the magnitude of the situation in Massachusetts, and shape what steps the state takes next, Bharel said. More than 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette products had been reported to the CDC from 33 states -- a list that does not include Massachusetts -- and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Five deaths have been confirmed in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon. USA Today on Wednesday reported that a sixth person, a 50-year-old patient in Kansas, had died of vaping-related lung disease. The CDC said it has not identified a cause of the outbreak, but all reported cases have a history of e-cigarette use, and no evidence of infectious disease has been found.

BOSTON —

As federal officials investigate a multi-state outbreak of lung illnesses associated with the use of e-cigarette products, Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel temporarily added possible cases of vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses to the list of conditions clinicians are required to report to the state.

Bharel told the Public Health Council on Wednesday that she was using her regulatory authority to mandate that vaping-related illnesses be reported to the department for the next 12 months.

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Gathering that information will allow the department to provide case counts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, help public health officials understand the magnitude of the situation in Massachusetts, and shape what steps the state takes next, Bharel said.

More than 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette products had been reported to the CDC from 33 states -- a list that does not include Massachusetts -- and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Five deaths have been confirmed in California, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon.

USA Today on Wednesday reported that a sixth person, a 50-year-old patient in Kansas, had died of vaping-related lung disease.

The CDC said it has not identified a cause of the outbreak, but all reported cases have a history of e-cigarette use, and no evidence of infectious disease has been found.